Haematite, having the chemical formula Fe2O3, is one of the most abundant minerals in nature. It exists as iron ore, in other minerals such as bauxite, and is also a component in clay minerals. It is the major component in laeritic soils (red soils found in the tropics). Similarly, manganese oxide, having a formula Mn2O3 is also a very common component in several laeritic soils and also exists as a mineral of manganese in the tropics.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,645,518 and 5,830,815 issued to Wagh et al. on Jul. 8, 1997 and Nov. 3, 1998, respectively, disclose processes for utilizing phosphate ceramics to encapsulate waste. U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,894 issued to Singh et al. on Dec. 8, 1998 discloses a method to produce phosphate bonded structural products from high volume benign wastes. None of these patents provides a method for utilizing the waste materials of iron and manganese.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,153,809 issued to Singh et al. Nov. 28, 2000 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/751,655 filed Dec. 29, 2000, publication no. U.S. 2002/0123422 to Wagh et al. represent additional development of the use of chemically bonded phosphate ceramics to useful materials. Each of the aforementioned patents, that is U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,518 issued to Wagh et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,894 issued to Singh et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,815 issued to Wagh et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,153,809 issued to Singh et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,133,498 issued to Singh et al. and the above-identified publication no. US 2002/0123422 (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/751,655) is incorporated herein in their entireties.
The phosphate ceramics disclosed in the various patents and publication hereinbefore mentioned illustrate a continuing effort to use the chemically bonded phosphate ceramics disclosed therein for a variety of purposes including the encapsulation of hazardous or radioactive waste as seen in the aforementioned publication, as well as the production of low cost structural materials. Accordingly, therefore, a need exists in the art for a low cost structural material which combines with synthetic organic resin based structures, for particular usage in the construction industry. Typically, in warm weather climates, low cost housing may be constructed using styrofoam as a base material onto which is sprayed a concrete-like material as a finish coating to seal the styrofoam base material against the elements and to provide a satisfactory looking structure. Heretofore, the phosphate ceramics disclosed in the above-captioned patents and publication were used as a finish coating in warm temperature climates but have not been satisfactory because the bond between styrofoam and the phosphate ceramics herein above disclosed is physical and peelable such that durable coatings have not been able to be provided with the extant material.